Saving Grace
by Elandil
Summary: Many years ago, the man in the moon sent the guardians to witness an event that would change them forever, but was that the real purpose? Now the shadows are rising again, but this time they can not be killed and the moon requests a new guardian, but why does this storm spirit seem so familiar to them all and what consequences does her arrival mean for them?
1. Chapter 1

Jack Frost, Old man winter, the shepherd of the cold, was not used to boundaries. In fact, he was born a free spirit, unable to remain in one place for longer than a few moment and, in all his long years, not once had there been a place he could not enter, except for here. Normally, the spirit of winter tried to steer completely clear of all coastal zones, he was not sure why but he could feel the pull of power far stronger than his own, so it had taken him many years to discover this one place that he could not gain access to, but once he had, he could hardly leave it alone. It was like the scab on your knee that keeps calling out to you though you know no good will come from picking at you, you just can't resist. And that was why, right now, he was sitting on a hill top near the coast of long island, New York, staring at what looked like empty fields of strawberries.

This place in particular was never anything to hold the interest of the spirit for long, and the air was a little warmer than he appreciated, but the mystery of the barrier was enough to keep him coming back. Not that he did anything, not that he really could, all he was able to do was it there on the hillside and stare at the deceptively solid wall of air that blocked his path. Over the years, he had found himself returning to the same spot, where he would stay, cross legged on the ground, like there was something important that he had to witness, but most days he would leave disappointed. One time however, on his last visit to the particular spot, all of that was doomed to change, and it just so happened that he was not there alone.

For a while after joining the Guardians, after the battle with Pitch, and discovering he had believers, Jack forgot about that place, the one part of the world where he was not granted access, the gentle warmth of newly discovered kinship driving the very idea right out of his mind. However, just like the pull that would always see him returning to the same spot, over and over, there were other forces at work than just the legends he associated with, and one in particular deemed that this place was not one to be ignored.

Many years after the great battle which signified him joining the guardians, they had settled down for a meeting in one of the guest rooms encased in North's cavernous workshop, all of them settled on various surfaces and exchanging stories of the past year and other trivial thoughts, after all, the children were safe and there was nothing that needed their attention over much in the summer months, or so they thought. Unfortunately just as Sandy was beginning a comical rendition of the time when he had suffered a rather unfortunate run in with the ground hog, the door to the room was flung open revealing a rather panicked looking yeti.

"Oh, for the sake of moon, what you want not? We are in the middle of meeting!"

Despite the exasperated tone of voice used by the older man, it was clear that he was worried at his subordinates obvious discomfort and soon, they were all running through the wooden halls following the retreating ball of brown fur as it lead them towards the globe room. However, when they arrived, it seemed as though there was nothing wrong with the lights that shone out, twinkling in the darkened room, making the panicked guardians sigh in relief.

"Well, what did that little fuzz ball want, there's nothing wrong with the kids so why drag us in here with a face like a ghost?"

All the others shrugged, not really having an answer to Bunny's question, all except for Sandy who was moving around erratically in a bid to catch the attention of his comrades. Finally giving up hope in his game of charades, he eventually lunged for the book on North's desk and dropped it on the floor with a heavy thud, effectively drawing all eyes in the room to his glaring face. Silently, and forcefully, he pointed first to his eyes and then out the window to where the silver light of the moon was shining over bright in the night sky. That must have been the problem.

Slowly, as they all watched, the light filtered into the room at an unnatural angle until it was sweeping over the globe and onto the wooden floor of the work shop where it remained, though something about the intensity seemed off, even to the Guardians. Right before their eyes, a sign formed words scrawling across it in a cursive script that was hard to read in glow.

"Delphi's Strawberry Farm?"

Tooth asked, wonder filling her voice as she floated closer to the sign, but, just as quickly as it had formed, it vanished, leaving the room dark once again. Instantly, they all started chattering again, each one talking over the others but, to their surprise, the youngest of the all remained quiet, his head bowed in thought and he did not look up when called. Eventually, Sandy went to shake the boy, making him jump straight up in the air until he recovered his senses enough to land back down grinning sheepishly.

"Hey, Frostbite, you okay there? Not like you to zone out of a conversation!"

His smile becoming more natural at the caring tone in his friend's voice, Jack leaned back on his staff, something that would have been precarious for other people, but not to him. Taking a deep breath, Jack thought about what he wanted to say before speaking his thoughts to his friends.

"Yeah, it's just, I know that place. It's in New York, but its strange. Most places I can get in no matter what, but this place has a barrier that keeps me out and its weird… do you think Manny wants us to go there for some reason?"

He had said this last part hopefully, as though he was wishing that the others would deny the claim, but, unfortunately, it was soon decided that this probably was the meaning behind the message and the winter spirit had ended up showing them the way, flying beside North's sleigh to give instructions as they went. That was why, right now, they were all stood at the top of said hill in the midst of a rapidly growing thunder storm.

"Are you sure this is the right place mate? It's bloody freezing here!"

"Yeah, this is definitely the place but I don't see why…"

His train of thought was cut off by a scream that cut through the steadily darkening gloom, leading all of the Guardians to raise their weapons and turn to face back down onto the plane, searching for the young girl who had let out the cry. When they finally found the source of the noise, their hearts fell. Around 100 yards in front of them, a small group of 4 children were running as fast as they could towards the hill, all of them supporting serious injuries, and all of them looking scared out of their wits, immediately springing into action, Bunnymund raced down the hill in the direction of the blond haired girl who must have been the one to cry out.

"Hey now, calm down, what's going on here? Why are you all out in this weather? Where are your parents?"

Although the girl could only have been about 7 and her companions no more than 12, all of them still in the age that should believe in the legends of the Easter bunny and Tooth fairy, the small group ran straight through the two spirits as though they were not there, unable to hear the questions as they did not believe. To their absolute shock, they could not even hear when North called down to them, something that they all seemed impossible.

Before the disturbing truth that these children did not believe could settle over them however, the source of their injuries and fear soon became apparent when a whole pack of shadows melted from the darkness and tried to take a bite out of the blond haired boy, only to be stabbed by the kids sword and turn into a glowing bronze dust, could these monsters be nightmares?

Without the belief of these children, the guardians were reduced to being merely spectators as the shadows closed around the group of 4, watching silently as they fought in ways far too familiar for kids their age to know. Unfortunately, it was clear to everyone that there were just far to many monsters here for the children to take care of alone, and though the spirits tried to help, their attacks went through the beasts as easily as if they were only spoke. Fear prickled at the hearts of the guardians as the thought dawned on them. They could not protect these kids, they where here only to watch them die, and there was no way they could stop it.

As if the matter was not bad enough, a screeching noise that clawed at their eardrums signified the appearance three bat like creatures that hung above the group, making the fighters all blanch white with fear. Although the spirits did not know what these beings were, it was clear that the children did.

"The Kindly ones, all three at ones, all three…"

The brown haired boy seemed to be going into something like a panic attack, one that was not very well timed as his companions where fighting for their lives around him, but, with out warning, the eldest girl, the one with the short black hair and electric blue eyes slapped him across the cheek and spoke in a sharp voice, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Focus Grover! How far away are we? Where is boundary?"

The words made little sense to the guardians, but the crippled boy, Grover, raised his arm slightly, his finger going through Jacks chest as he pointed towards the crest of the hill they were fighting at the foot of. At this, the light seemed to dim slightly in the girl's eyes, it was clear that they were not going to make it, but, almost immediately, it was replaced by a steely glint of determination.

"When I say so, get the other 2 and get them over the boundary line, I'll hold off these lot!"

"What, Thalia, no!"

"It's me they want anyway, if I can keep them distracted long enough for you to get into the camp, you can bring out help."

Her voice shook as she said this, as though she did not believe what she was saying, but was trying to be brave for her friends, over out of the battle, Tooth's eyes began to mist over with tears and the others watched on in sheer amazement.

"Luke you're the fastest here, grab Annabeth, if you run full speed they wont be able to catch you."

"No, Thalia, you know I can't…"

"Once you set off, don't you dare look back, just keep going until the two of you are safe!"

"We can't leave you, you're our friend!"

"It's my fault that all these are after us in the first place, I wont let you die because of my own curse!"

All the while they argued, they did not falter with their fighting style. The younger girl, Annabeth seemed to be on the edge of tears and the boy's seemed not far off, but the elder boy, Luke, looked around with a grim gaze, as though he knew this was the only chance, but he tried once again to talk the girl out of it.

"Thalia, if we leave you here, you will die!"

At this she spared him a glance, and from what the guardian's could see, it was so full of pain that it made their hearts break. She offered her friend a smile of comfort before pecking him on the lips once.

"Maybe I want that Luke, maybe I'm tired of living like a hunted animal all the time."

As she said those words, she charged deeper into the ranks of the shadows, swinging a bronze spear in her hand with deadly accuracy and leaving a gap open for the others to escape by. At once, the two boys took off, feet slipping on the slick grass and the rain poured over them. Luke had grabbed Annabeth with his free hand and was running up the hill at an impossible speed, but the young girl's screams could still be heard as she thrashed around in his arms, trying to get back to her friend.

After a while, the screaming stopped, the guardian's looked up and guessed that they had managed to head down the other side of the hill as they were lost from sight now, but their attention was still drawn to the quickly tiring figure of the 12 year old girl as she hacked, and slashed her way through an impossible amount of monsters.

From their proximity to the battle, the guardians could feel the air thrum with electricity, though the energy made no sense, and the girl thought harder. She was bleeding heavily from a wound to her shoulder now, and her feet were sliding around on the soaked ground beneath her as she started edging her way up the hill, trying to retreat to safety, but it appeared to be a lost cause. All at once, the energy in the atmosphere peaked and a bolt of lightning, struck the girl's raised spear, splintering off and vaporising all of the beings in the immediate area to her. Using this break as a chance, the girl turned and took off sprinting up the hill.

Despite the pounding of the rain and the howling winds, the girl made steady progress up the hill, managing to keep the distance between her and the beasts. When she reached the summit of the mound, it looked as though she was going to make it, but they had forgotten about the winger creatures from before. Dropping down from the sky just before the girl, they lashed out all at once with whips that flickered as though on fire. Although Thalia tried to dodge the strikes, they were too fast and her own movements were slowed by fatigue. One by one the whips found their mark and the air filled with the young girl's agonised screams as she was lifted into the air by the burning rope wrapped around her ankle, her neck, her wounded shoulder.

Almost silently, the larges of the bat like monsters raised a dark blade that flashed viciously in the glow of the lightning that barely missed them. One swift motion and the thrashing stopped, the screaming vanished and the girl fell limply to the floor. One by one, the monsters faded back into the shadows around them, leaving only the guardians and the little girl that was dying on the hillside. Even the wind had fallen silent.

Breaking out of their state of shock, they ran to the prone figure on the ground, dropping on their knees beside the girl who lay, face down, in the mud, the point of a black dagger poking out from jacket in the same place as her left lung was situated. Gently, Tooth reached forwards, tentatively stretching her fingers towards the girl's burning skin. Finding that her hands did not go through the child, she quickly flipped the girl over so that they could all see her too pale face.

She was a child little older than 12, with short black hair that spiked around her and a gentle face. She would have been beautiful had her skin not been so pale, where it could be seen through streaks of blood and grime. To the surprise of the spirits, the girl's chest rose and fell in little pants, signifying that she was still alive despite her wounds and the fact that her eyes remained tightly shut. Even as they watched however, the shallow little breaths began to slow down, and her pulse became weaker, no matter what they tried, the girl was dying and there was no way they could help.

Once, not long after they had turned her over, her eyes flew open, revealing irises that sparked an clear electric blue that shone with intelligence as she looked around their faces once before they drifted closed again.

The guardians did not know why they stayed, their presence did no good and the girl was sure to die no matter what, but it was partially their training, and partially in their nature. No one should die alone, especially not this girl, not now that she had sacrificed her life to save her friends. That was why they stayed, crouched beside her until the end, keeping hold of her hands and blocking her from the cold night air protectively until the pained gasps for breath finally stopped and her skin began to cool.

One by one then, their eyes filled with tears for the one child they could not help, the spirits made their way back to the sleigh as they silently returned to the workshop, not even Jack was able to find the bright side of this situation and none of them knew what to say. Why had the man in the moon sent them to see this? Was it because, as they had thought before, that no one should die alone? Did he wish for them to be by her side as she took her final breath to protect her from fear? In the end, they returned to their homes without an answer and Jack Frost never returned to that spot again.

If the guardians had stayed however, for just a few moments more, they would have noticed yet another pole of lightning strike the hill, exactly where the young girl's body lay. They would have noticed the glowing golden light that dissipated to reveal the fully grown figure of an ancient pine in the place of a corps. They would have seen the moons rays darken as if it too was crying. They would have seen the children appear seemingly from thin air to gather around the tree in quiet respect and the little girl with the golden curls fall weeping at its roots. Yes, if they had stayed, they might have seen many things to inspire their wonder but perhaps not the small girl that rested on the highest branches of the pine. The girl with the flowing black hair and the strangely bright blue eyes that seemed to sparkle with energy. The girl wrapped in a hunter's dress the colour of raven wings with her bronze spear clasped loosely in her left hand. No, perhaps they would not have seen her but she would have seen them and maybe she would have spoken. However, as it was, the girl silently rose up into the air as though being caressed by the winds, and sailing off into the dark clouds that were to become her home.

The girl did not know her past, but she did know her name. She was Storm, spirit of the wind and rain, controller of the lightning that rushed around the loft heights she now sailed with ease. How did she know this? Why, because the moon told her so.


	2. Chapter 2

Alone in the shadows of the wood where he was imprisoned, Pitch Black glared at the dark trees and pouring rain that made up his surroundings. After his defeat all those years ago, he had been locked in here with no way out, no matter how hard he squirmed. He had wanted to be seen, to be acknowledge by the world, but look where that had got him. Here he was, alone, and the only ones to know of him wanted him dead. It was enough to drive anyone mad, and it made him question the very reason for his own existence.

Many long years had passed since his imprisonment, how many he was not sure, but he knew that the total must be rather large. For most of the time, he was alone, but occasionally, one of those pathetic guardians would come to make sure he was not plotting anything again. Each time, no matter who came, they were always infuriatingly jolly and optimistic, it was enough for Pitch to long for the long stretches of solitude he felt in between the visits of his wardens. The only other living thing he saw, was the faint shadow that flickered amongst the storm clouds from time to time, though she never once stopped for a visit… well, not at first.

On one such night as this, he had been out in the clearing by his layer, soaking in the faint trails of fear that reached him from the distant settlement, almost thankful to the large booming sound the thunder made that scared the children so, but the rain was cold and penetrating, causing him to curse the storm rather than thank it. In the end, he was about to return to his layer, if only to get away from chilly wind, when a large pole of lightning struck the earth not too far from his position, it's strange energy pulling him forwards against his will, until, eventually, he was peering through the bushes at the small girl who was sitting in the crater.

No more than around 12 in her appearance, and slim as a twig, she was one of the kind that would normally be terrified of a storm to this magnitude, yet here she was, laughing as though everything she had ever wished for was coming true at once. His curiosity piqued, he allowed himself to move closer so as to get a better view of the child in the shimmering black dress. Now he could see her midnight locks that flowed down her back and the oddly glowing blue eyes that indicated she was more than human. Obviously, it had been she that was causing this awful weather, meaning that she had to be a storm spirit. Satisfied, he moved to return to his home, not noticing the girl move behind him.

Once he had reached the safety of his clearing, where no other being would willingly go, Pitch sighed slightly to himself before taking a seat on his sodden log like he had before the investigation. Leaning back and allowing the shadows to caress his shoulders, he let his eyelids droop, believing that he was totally alone. Of course, as were the rules of life for him, it seemed, there was no moment of peace that he was to be allowed.

"Hello…"

The high, clear voice cut through the new wave of thunder that rolled across the sky, perfectly audible against the rumbling and making the nightmare king jerk forwards in shock to stare at the child before him. As she took in his shocked expression, the sprite's own became more of a smirk and an amused look flashed through her eyes, the child like innocence there was enough to irritate the boogeyman, so when he replied, his words were dripping with venom.

"What do you want brat?"

The term at the end seemed to cause the girl to pout, but she was soon smiling again and skipping across the clearing. Something flashed in her hand as she stirred up some leaves at her feet, batting them into the air where they were snatched away by the wind, and Pitch saw she was clasping a bronze spear in her right hand. Somewhat wearily now that he knew she had a weapon, he slowly got to his feet in case she decided to attack, but when she turned back to face him, her annoyingly bright smile was fixed back in place.

"Oh, I was just wondering how you could see me is all, you're the first one that has managed it you see!"

She giggled slightly at the pun and drifted up into the air as though unable to stand still. Watching her carefully from the corner of his eyes, Pitch turned slightly beginning to pick his way back to his lair, wanting to get away from this apparently hyper child.

"That is because I am also a spirit, now go away and stop bothering me!"

Sighing once, the girl tossed some flower petals at him and began to make her way back up into the sky, stopping to swing on tree branches every so often, and letting out loud whoops of joy as she did so. However, before she disappeared entirely, she turned back just in time to smile down and call out to the shadow king, though she was long gone by the time her words reached his ears.

"You should really loosen up, but I guess I'll talk to you later!"

True to her word, this spirit, Storm (he still couldn't help smiling at the blatancy of her name), had returned once a week, every week for the next 3 months, specifically searching him out to convince him to take part in some of her childish games, never seeming to mind the cold responses she got in return. At first, these short visits had been little more than an annoyance to the older legend, but after a while, he found himself enjoying her company. He didn't know when they had come to the agreement, but now, every time there was a heavy downpour in the area, Pitch would wait for her visit in the same place as they always met. Just as he was doing now.

Sighing impatiently, his eyes once again flickered across the area, trying to spot the bright blue eyes of his only friend, but coming up empty. Either the child was trying to surprise him (something that wasn't all that unheard of) or she was running very late. Finally, after another hour, she appeared, dancing along the tree tops and laughing at the top of her lungs.

The sight of a happy child normally made Pitch seethe in anger, it made his blood boil and his fingers itch as he had to force himself not to destroy that joy, but with Storm, it was different. The sound of her laugh was enough to make a small glow start up in his chest where his heart should have been, but was now only darkness. When the girl finally saw fit to land in the clearing, she stumbled slightly into his already outstretched arms, giggling slight as he helped to steady her before letting go.

"Late again little storm crow, I was beginning to wonder if you were even going to show up!"

She looked up a little scared at the iciness in his voice, but the concerned expression soon turned into a broad grin as she took in the smirk on his face. Pushing herself back, she flipped over in midair before hanging upside down and sticking her tongue out at him.

"Sorry Old Man, I just lost track of time… again!"

He sighed in mock annoyance, placing his hands on his hips in response to her statement, taking on the role of an angry parent in there discussion, something that did not feel all that much like an act anymore.

"Well young lady, you should learn to keep a better schedule in future… and I am not an old man!"

"Actually, if you thing about it 1000+ years old is kinda, well… old!"

And so the night went on, the two of them bickering in a playful manner until the storm had almost blown itself out and it was time for his guest to leave. Silently, Pitch Black made his way back to his lair, thinking back over the last few months and trying to remember when the child had turned from nothing more than a nuisance into something more like a daughter. So caught up was he in these thoughts that he did not take any notice of the shadows following him into the hole in the ground that had always been his sanctuary. He didn't even care when they began t wrap themselves around his legs possessively… after all they did obey him. He did, however, notice when the thin lines of darkness began to pull him in deeper, dragging him further into the depths of the earth.

No matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free of these restraints, and the shadows became far more of a liquid than anything else, running up his legs, covering his entire body and flowing into his being. As it entered, the darkness pulled at the left over warmth in his chest, tainting it, destroying it. Eventually, the dark streams found his mouth and forced themselves down his throat until he could no longer breath, or call for help. All there was in the tunnels was him, and the darkness in which he drowned.

* * *

After the incident all those many long years ago, all of the guardians had changed, each of them took their work more seriously, and tried to spend more time with their believers, almost as though they were trying to make up for the one child they could not save. In the end however, things had gradually begun to drift back to normality as everything settled down. As it was however, their had won peace was doomed to die only a mere 250 years from the time it had begun. That was the reason why they had all gathered here at the pole now.

"…And you're sure it wasn't just a stray fearling?"

Tooth shot those words forcefully at Bunny as she buzzed around the room, unable to keep still in light of the recent news the guardian of Hope had brought with him.

"I'm telling ya shiela, it was something we aint ever seen before. Black as night with bloody red eyes, looked like a dog, and it weren't no fearling!"

As all of them argued back and forth, trying to decide what this new threat was, Jack Frost sat lone in the corner furthest away from the flickering flames in the hearth, his head down and his expression closed off. This was nothing new anymore, and the Guardians had long since given up hope of pulling the youngest spirit back into their conversations, he had been like this ever since the death of the girl, but now, he wasn't merely gazing off into space, he was thinking.

"Actually, I think Cottontail's wrong."

He spoke up, cutting off what ever North was about to say, and dragging all of the incredulous gazes from his team mates onto himself. It had been such a long time since the old enemies had fought that it took the Pooka a few seconds to recover before he shot a cheeky response back, smiling at the thought that maybe his friend was on the way back to normal.

"Oh? And why's that snow flake? You doubting my senses now?"

He had been expecting a rebuff from the teen, but, to his further surprise, the boy only shrugged his thin shoulders slightly, brushing off the challenge as he carried on with his train of thought.

"No, not about that, I'm sure you saw what it was correctly, I was saying that I think we might have seen that thing before. Didn't you say that all of your attacks went straight through it?"

Looking rather confused, the giant rabbit nodded slightly, not seeing where this was going, but willing to listen just in case. For a second, Jack seemed to freeze before he took a deep breath as though to steady himself. When he answered, his words made the guardians shiver in dread.

"Well, think about that time where the… where the girl was killed. We couldn't touch those shadow monsters then, and they seem to fit in the description that bunny just gave, don't you guys think so?"

Unfortunately, those words those words made far too much sense for the legends' liking, and they all let out little starts of distress. In fact, the atmosphere in the little room was so tense that, when the door burst open to reveal a rather panicked looking Yeti, all 5 of them nearly jumped out of their skin. Finally able to recover slightly, North began to scold the worker.

"How many times must I tell you to KNOCK?"

Despite the anger now directed at it, the Yeti did not flinch away like it normally would have, instead, it garbled something that none of the others understood, but which sent North running down the hallway in the direction of the globe room. Struggling to keep up with their friend, the others followed and Sandy flashed a golden question mark in front of the big man, making him slow down slightly.

"Phil says Man in moon wants to speak to us!"

Faster now, they all made their way to the lone ray of moonbeam that fell on the cleared floor of the workshop and, as they watched, it started drifting towards the mural of the guardians that was engraved into the wooden panelling. As they all gathered, it fell upon the metal G in the floor, causing a hidden panel to slide back and the older 4 to gasp in wonder. Intrigued now, Jack Frost drifted forwards slightly to get a better look.

"Um, guys… what does that mean?"

"It means, Man in moon is choosing new guardian!"

North breathed out, wonder filling his words as a ice blue crystal on a cyan pedestal slowly began to rise from the floor, filtering the moonlight into a single stand. Once the gem had stopped moving, the light seemed to brighten, spreading out so that a figure appeared in front of the Jewel, taking the form of a young girl with flowing back hair, a dark leather dress and a spear clasped in front of her as she gazed into the sky.

"Wait… isn't that…?"

Tooth trailed off as Sandy began flashing image after image above his head, far too quickly for anyone to comprehend, but they all knew what he was saying. In the end, it was Bunnymund who stepped forwards to gaze at the figure of the young girl.

"Yeah, I guess this mean that the little dead girl is joining our party… guess the little ankle biter survived after all!"


End file.
